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The best Android apps of 2018

With millions of apps on the Play Store, searching for the best among them is daunting. Whether you need a great weather app or a new tool to speed up your productivity, there are always dozens available. Here at AndroidPIT, we’ve spent hours curating the top Android apps for every purpose, and compiled only the best of them into one list. Here are the best Android apps of 2018.

Editor's Choice: our favorites of 2018

Over the years, some titles have been dropped from this list, as they are overshadowed by new contenders or fall behind in updates or features. Newer, better apps have taken their place. Yet, some apps still hang on to the top spot tenaciously. To create a little more space for new blood, we asked our editorial staff which new apps changed their lives in 2018. Here's what stood out:

Google Trips

The Trips app has been around for a while, but in 2018 Google rolled out a huge update that dramatically improved this app for me. It pulls information from Maps, Flights, Hotels and Gmail - there are times when the all-seeing, all-knowing Google data gathering machine is useful - to give you tailored holidays plans.

What I love about the app is how well curated all of the information is. You really can manage your whole trip from one place - getting an overview of your reservations, providing lists of things to do, as well as information about getting around your destination. You can also download your desinations so that you can access all features offline.

Period Tracker Flo, Pregnancy & Ovulation Calendar

This period tracking app is really easy to use. Simple and clear. It only offers the essential information and it doesn't bother you with notifications. You enter your period dates and if you want - and for a better analysis of your symptoms - share information about how you feel (mood, sexual activity, exercise, sleep...) with the app.

It offers you related articles with useful facts you need to know more about, in order to improve living with your period. They also dispel some menstruation myths.

When you open the app, you receive information on which phase you are in (ovulation and so on) and it also offers you info about how likely you are to get pregnant. So aside from your period, it is also a good app if you are trying for a baby, informing you about your most fertile days.

Speak freely with these messenger apps for Android

Smartphones are used for messaging even more than for calls, so there are a lot of messaging apps to meet this demand. Here are two of our favorites.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp, the ubiquitous chat app, has been installed on over one billion smartphones. It's always improving user experience, adding new features and becoming more secure. What makes it number one? Everyone uses it, simple as that. If you already use WhatsApp, then you should check out our favorite WhatsApp tips and tricks.

Telegram

No messaging app comes close to the number of users WhatsApp has, but there are some great alternatives out there. Telegram is one of them. The free app has end-to-end encryption, offers group chats and is a pioneer of chatbots. Unlike some other messengers, you can also use it on multiple devices. Read our full review of Telegram here.

Transform your typing with new keyboard apps

Typing on mobile can be frustrating or awkward for many of us, and that's a shame because most users don't think about ditching their default keyboard. Installing a new keyboard can really change your life when it comes to how comfortable you are using your phone.

Fleksy

This keyboard is one of the best for fast, accurate typing. Once you use it for a couple of hours, you realize how useful some of the smaller details are.

Be sure check out some of the extensions like invisible keyboard too — it works surprisingly well. Download it from the Play Store for free now.

SwiftKey

If you are looking for a very special virtual keyboard for Android, you will find one here. SwiftKey works wonderfully with tablets, and if you simply want a good Android keyboard, it offers intuitive operation, very good spell checking and word recognition.

Whatever the weather, there's an app to warn you what's coming

There are plenty of great weather apps available. Some are more accurate and better looking than the ones that come pre-installed on your Android device, so they are worth checking out.

Today Weather

One of the simplest weather apps and one of the cleanest in terms of user interface - Today Weather. It's a new offering that really impressed us this year. The app pulls weather data from a source of your choice. Options include popular services such as Weather Underground, AccuWeather and Dark Sky.

You can also set alerts to let you know when it is going to rain or if you'd just like a daily update in the morning.

Weather Underground

Weather Underground is an app specialized in tracking hyper-local weather and temperatures in your area. It uses its own network of around 180,000 private weather stations to achieve this. Predictions have a good record of accuracy and warn you of rain in the surrounding area.

Shoot and edit like a pro with these photo apps for Android

PhotoDirector

PhotoDirector is the whole package. It has everything you could possibly need to edit your photos. The tools range from simple text bubbles and filters, to more complex things, such as HSL and curves. They're all heavily adjustable, helping you get the best out of your photos.

Find and play your jam with these great music apps

Downloading free music

Google Play Music is our favorite app for downloading free music right now. It provides a totally legit, ever-changing list of free tracks from major artists to download.

Spotify has an excellent paid subscription service, and SoundCloud has a multitude of tracks readily available to stream. However, for actually downloading tracks to your phone, Google Play Music is as good as you can get.

Chill with our favorite apps for movies and TV

Netflix

You cannot compile a list of the best apps for movies and TV without mentioning Netflix. The service is a social and cultural phenomenon, and the Netflix app is really rather decent. The selection is enormous and the streaming quality is excellent. The biggest advantage of it has over its rivals, however, is the ever-increasing selection of exclusive content and Netflix Originals movies and TV shows. You'll need a paid account to watch though, of course.

Hulu

Hulu is an excellent app for watching movies and TV shows for free on Android. It's a free service that relies on ads, but there are some great shows available. You need to pay a subscription fee to access all of the content, but there is a range of excellent shows available without a subscription, including classic comedies such as Family Guy, Seinfeld and South Park.

Crackle

Crackle is a hugely popular free app, which is updated monthly with new TV shows and movies. Created by Grouper but later bought by Sony, the app features ads which run at regular intervals throughout the content. The trade-off is that you get an excellent selection of media and a well-maintained app.

Crackle, like Netflix or Amazon, has picked up some original content that's getting more popular.

Make your phone a fortress with security and antivirus apps

Sophos Free Antivirus and Security

Sophos consistently ranks high on watchdogs such as AV-Test. In addition to perfect protection, it offers a varied feature set. The highlight: the app is totally free, even from ads (Sophos makes its money from business customers). Malware protection is based on an online database that also checks the reputation of individual apps and recommends alternatives.

The app also includes theft protection. It allows you to remotely control your smartphone by SMS from other phone numbers you specify. Child protection filters, call blockers and device encryption complete the package. Of all the antivirus apps out there, Sophos stands out as the best deal for most users.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes is a free app that does one job really well - protecting your phone from malware - and it does so with a bloat-free, minimalist interface and well-chosen options.

As well as offering malware detection, there's also a handy privacy audit feature that scans apps installed on your phone and breaks them down into different categories. This allows you to get a simple and quick overview of all the apps on your phone.

Personalize your Android

Action Launcher

Launchers offer a simple way to customize the look and feel of your Android phone. They often combine new icons, a new app drawer layout, a fresh homescreen and a change of wallpaper to make your device fit a certain style or theme.

You have to try them out to appreciate how fun they can be. The one we recommend right now is Action Launcher. This is a free and excellent introduction to launchers because it provides clear and intuitive interface changes without adding so many options that it becomes off-putting. The latest edition brings many of the best features of the Google Pixel launcher and Android Pie to any compatible (Android 5+) smartphone.

Nova Launcher

Nova is a great alternative launcher that lets you customize the entire look and feel of your operating system - from changes to font size, to the number of apps that can appear on the lock screen, to the way in which your app drawer scrolls.

If you wish you could make a few simple changes to your current interface, then give the free version of Nova a try. Nova even lets you adopt the look of any other phone - Galaxy, Xperia, HTC, LG, even iOS if that's your thing.

Let your phone help you find that special someone

Online dating has come a long way from the easy punchline it used to be. Nowadays it's pretty common to meet that special someone on a dating app. However long your connection might last, you need a good app to get started in the dating game. Here our favorites.

Tinder for the sheer number of potential matches

For those who wish to jump straight into the larger dating pool, Tinder is a massive app with tons of potential matches available. It's claimed that 26 million matches happen on Tinder every day.

Bumble: from female friendly dating to all-round networking

Bumble burst onto the scene with an interesting take on the dating app format. Women make the first move. The app has since expanded to become a hub for professional networking and platonic friendship, so if you want to meet new people in all aspects of your life, it's a nice one-stop shop. But the main use is still its dating format.

For women who are frustrated with tons of messages by men who barely look at their profiles, or men who get stuck on trying to craft that perfect opening line, this can be a great way to make dating less stressful (of course, for women seeking women, it's basically online dating as usual, and men seeking men are still best served with Grindr).

Get (and stay) fit with health and fitness apps

Of course, you might want tone up a little for all that dating you're going to do with the above apps. Or maybe you just need a little help with motivation or organisation when it comes to keeping in shape. Fitness apps are great because you can keep your device close to you while you're on the move. Let's take a look at the best.

RunKeeper for a comprehensive experience

RunKeeper has a good reputation, not just for the number of features in its own app, but also the number of third-party services it plugs into (it works with both Google Fit and Apple Health). If you're a keen runner, there aren't many better options than this one.

You can plan your runs on a map via GPS tracking, monitor distance covered and calories burned, set personal goals, integrate your indoor activities and more. Despite the name, this app can handle bike rides and gym workouts as well as running, so it's a comprehensive monitoring app.

Don't underestimate the power of community. There are social aspects to the app as well. You can share achievements with your friends, join and create running groups and use the chat feature to keep each other motivated. The app is free, but also has ads and optional in-app purchases.

Google Fit for simplicity

Google's own health and fitness app is tightly integrated with Android and Android Wear. It's also full of features. Weight, heart rate, steps and activity time can all be logged automatically and you can set simple daily goals, as well as get an alert when you've reached them.

Never forget with the most useful note-taking apps

Taking notes with your smartphone is one of the most simple functions, but it is also one of the most useful. Whether you need to make a quick shopping list, have just been told about a movie and don't want to forget its name, or if you've seen a product that you want to look up later, a good note-taker is an essential app for every Android user.

Evernote for the ultimate cross-platform note-taking

Evernote is a legendary note-taking app. It’s easy to use and comes with some really cool features including voice commands. You can also take a note and view it on your lock screen or smartwatch. Evernotes are also available across multiple devices, including on desktop. You can also find notes based on your location if you are near to where you took the note in the first place. There is a Plus version available for $2.99 a month and a Premium version for $5.99, but the free version is great as well.

Google Keep for simplicity that works

Keep is Google’s pre-installed note-taking app, and it’s one of our favorites. You can take notes in a variety of ways, by either typing on your keyboard, writing with your finger, taking a quick photo or by recording a voice message. All of your notes are then synced with your Gmail account, so you can access them across several Google services. The search function is especially cool, as it can find words that you have written freehand as well as typed.

Enhance your life with even more great apps

This has been our pick of the cream of the crop when it comes to the best Android apps of 2018! However, if you didn't quite find what you were looking for, or if you're still hungry for more, check out the links below:

The latest and greatest

Updated every month with new recommendations, these are the apps and games that have impressed us lately. Get ahead of the curve!

Readers' favorite comments

Where is "UNIQ MOBILE FINDER" in the list, Its one of the best app people must have in their android device. Using which people never lost their phone again. You can save your stolen smartphone and protect your personal info from unwelcome intruders. Must use app.

Hi!There is a new app in Android called ChatsOffline, that is great to protect your time, it can help you to pause your chats (WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for free), so you can focus on your work and family time.

For note Taking purpose I use Microsoft's "OneNote". I find it more versatile, powerful and free from the kind of restrictions imposed by Evernote in its freemium model. Further, Microsoft will exist in continuity in foreseeable future while there is no guarantee for Evernote.

I am a simple man. I see McAfee on a "best apps" list and I cringe. Avast is good, probably the best aside from Kaspersky; good for those who believe politicians enough to distrust Kaspersky. I'd also highly recommend Malwarebytes to everyone, as a secondary protection.

There are other underwhelming picks that I'd love to argue, but seriously, McAfee? "Best Apps"? Eww.

Touchpal is my best keyboard application,still use playerpro for my music player,but there are some better applications outside the play store,that i have found on aptoide and uptodown,it can be a gamble using applications outside the playstore as sometimes you miss out on regular updates

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Create account

ID4me is an internet service that enables its users to log in to many different internet services with one account. This is also known as "single sign on".

Unlike existing global single sign on solutions like the ones from Google or Facebook, ID4me does not track and analyze the internet surfing habits of its users. ID4me will make sure that the surfing habits stay secret.

Also, ID4me does not belong to an enterprise. It is an open standard that is maintained by a nonprofit organization. Anyone who wants to can participate. This way the users can chose freely between different ID4me providers and can also change the provider anytime.